The Final Ascent
by vulpixfairy
Summary: My first GS fic. A piece of fluff inspired by the story 'The Little Match Girl'. Summary: Goku is lost and alone until he finds some matches. He just can't resist to light them...


Disclaimer: I do not own Gensomaden Saiyuki (characters, plots, the whole caboodle!)  
  
  
Author's notes: This is inspired by the story 'The Little Match Girl' by Hans Christian Anderson and my liking to the series. This is what came up.  
  
  
  
The Final Ascent  
  
  
'If this was deep underground, I would have never known the sun...'  
  
  
The snow drizzled in the darkness upon the white covered roofs of a peaceful village isolated in the mountains. Until one of the snowflakes fell upon a palm belonging a golden eyed teenaged boy gazing sadly up to the sky. He was huddled against one of the walls of a house. The golden orbs were filled with sadness and emptiness.  
  
  
'Sanzo...Hakkai...Gojyo...why did you all have to die...'  
  
  
Son Goku was cold and hungry, desperately seeking for warmth and shelter but he couldn't bring himself to move. His clothes wasted to rags, his skin silvery blue from the freezing weather and the gold diadem around his forehead shining in a sinister shine, the boy was no match against the cold. He had been sitting...mourning for the death of his companions but most of all for his sun who disappeared from his life.  
  
Goku's heart felt like breaking as he gave a thought about them. He paid no heed to his increasing hunger in the pangs of his stomach. Feeling the tears he held back trickling down his cheeks, he sobbed and brought a hand to his eyes.  
As he did, his arm brushed against a hard object.  
  
His golden eyes found the source. He found a small crate containing several boxes of matches. He took a few, hoping that the owner won't be missing them. Placing the other boxes in his lap, he examined the first one. He had seen them before and how they were used. Sanzo and Gojyo sometimes used them for lighting their cigarettes when their lighters were not functioning. Hakkai used them for making campfires when they were sleeping outdoors and cooking.  
  
  
'Should I...'  
  
  
He peeked inside the box. The matches were dry, ready for use. They were tempting the boy to light a spark on the heads. Goku shivered as he fumbled for a match and struck it against the side of the little box. It gave a small flame but the heat raged like an inferno as he cupped his hands to shield it from the winds. The glow started to form an image in front of him and he could see a burning stove, sparks floating around it like sparkles. But as the boy scooted closer to feel the heat, the stove slowly vanished.  
  
He looked down the match that had its flame extinguished. He reached for another match and struck it, aching to feel the warmth of the flame. Instead of the stove he had envisioned, a different sight took place. In front of him was a large table filled with all Chinese cuisine and delicacies that were his palate. They looked good enough to eat but like the stove, it disappeared. Goku could only stare in disappointment.  
  
The teenager coughed as the winds intensified in speed and the temperature dropped. But he managed to keep the boxes safe and retrieved another match. After gathering enough energy to strike the match, his eyes widened at the sight created before his eyes. Instead of the two images he had seen earlier, a golden haired man in a monk's outfit was standing, his back towards him. He was glowing softly in a gold aura.  
  
  
"S-Sanzo?!" Goku croaked in disbelief as the man turned to face him.  
  
  
Indeed it was Sanzo in the flesh. The Maten sutra draped around his shoulders. The red chakra on his forehead. The amethyst orbs shining on the pale stoic face framed with golden hair.   
  
Goku's heart thumped with trepidation as Sanzo walked towards him, his aura growing brightly and keeping his amethyst gaze upon the golden eyes of the boy. It was then Goku noticed the match losing its flame. He quickly took out several to keep the flame lit, resorting to burn the boxes and nearly scalding his fingers. He didn't want Sanzo to disappear like the stove and the table of food.  
  
  
"Onegai, Sanzo!" Goku cried out, "Don't leave me like before!"  
  
  
Goku was half expecting the beautiful man to walk away, instead Sanzo walked closer and closer, the glow's light shining brightly as the sun. The pile of burning matches on the ground and in his hand matched the aura of the monk. Goku felt his breath constrict in his throat as Sanzo knelt down and stretched out his arms. Before long, the boy was wrapped in his embrace. Goku gave a sob and flung his arms around the broad shoulders. He pressed his face against the slender neck, reveling in his warmth.  
  
  
"Baka saru..." Sanzo murmured soothingly, "Ikuzo. Gojyo and Hakkai are waiting."  
  
Goku pulled back to gaze at his master. The face was impassive but he could see tenderness in the purple crystal eyes, "Sanzo...I thought you died..."  
  
"You really are a baka saru..." Sanzo stood up and carried Goku like a baby, "Hold on."  
  
  
In a moment, the both of them were soaring into the sky, rising up to the dark sky filled with stars. Goku felt no fear as he held onto his master.  
  
  
"I missed you, Sanzo," Goku confessed, making the other look at him.  
  
  
Sanzo's eyes softened and his face began to lose a little bit of its stoic quality, allowing a micro tender smile to appear on the thin lips. He bent down his head and bestowed a kiss on the chocolate coloured locks of Goku's hair.  
  
  
"I missed you too, Goku."  
  
  
Goku chirped cheerily as he and Sanzo continued their new journey to reunite with their companions.  
  
  
*****  
  
  
The snow cleared in the morning. The villagers were much surprised to find a snow covered lump at the wall of one of the houses. As they gathered in curiosity, an elderly woman accompanied by another man were the first to step forth. They both knelt down near the pile and dusted the powdery snow away while the others watched.  
  
They, along with the rest of the villagers, gasped at the sight. On the snowy ground laid a dead frozen young boy who looked no older than eighteen dressed in rags. His eyes were half-closed, showing dull golden pupils and his closed fists were clutching several burnt matches. His skin was blue, no longer warm. A pile of the other burnt matches was nearby. Despite of the sad scene, they could see a sweet and happy smile on the boy's lips.  
  
  
"A young boy..." the old woman murmured with sadness as she picked the corpse gently into a cradling position, "The poor child...he's dead..."  
  
"He must have been trying to warm up during the winter night," the man beside her commented, his voice filled with aching lament.  
  
  
As they mourned for the teenage boy's woes, their hearts were filled with puzzlement of the cause of the smile on the lips. For they knew little of the beautiful images he had seen before the time of his death.  
  
  
**Owari**

  
My very first Gensomaden Saiyuki fanficiton. Leave a review? Onegai?


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